Improved portable apparatus for manufacturing illuminating-gas



minimum-un immfrm/mmm:im

PHOTWLITMDGRAMER, WASHINGTON D NL Ferias,

l'ITEiD STATES GEORGE H. KITCHEN,

PATENT OFFICE.

0E NEw YORK, N. Y.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 36,096, dated August 5,1862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. KITCHEN, of the city and State of NewYork, have invented, made, and applied to use a certain new and usefulImprovement -in Portable Gas Apparatus; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of my saidinvention, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part ofthis specilication, wherein- Figure l is a vertical section lengthwiseof the retort, and Fig. 2 is a cross-section.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

Portable gas apparatus has heretofore been made with a retort in afurnace, and the gas itself, formed from oil, allowed to pass into saidretort and go offin the gaseous form to a gasometer.

The nature of my said invention consists in the employment of a peculiarcharacter of tile beneath the retort to equalize the action ofthe fireon the same and prevent theretort burning, and at the same time rendersaid retort much more efficient in consequence of the uniformity of theheat; and in order to prevent heat from the-furnace passing out into thecellar, where such portable gas apparatus is usually placed, I employ adouble casing to the furnace,which tends to retain the heat, and,inconnection with the aforesaid tile, to equalize the heat in its actionupon the retort.

In the drawings, a is a furnace formed by a double casing of sheetmetal, as shown, leaving a space for a stratum of air,- ashes, plaster,

or other noneonducting material,to retain the heat in the furnace asmuch as possible. This furnace is also lined with soapstone or rebrickat b.

c is the grate, and d is the ash-draw.

e is a. retort of any convenient construction or size, and below saidretort is my improved tile f, of hre-brick, soapstone,or similar matefrial. It is well known that fires burn the most intensely in the center.I therefore make my said tile f thickest in the middle and thinnertoward the ends, so -that the temperature of the retort throughout shallbe as nearly uniform as possible, and the non-conducting space aroundthe furnace conspires to aid in equal- The oil from which the gas inthis portableapparatus is made is to be supplied by a suitable cock tothe siphon-pipe k, and the gas conveyed away, as at Z, to asuitablereservoir.

The heavy coaloi1s,which are now the cheapest for making gas from,contain an excess of carbon and are apt to smoke. I therefore ll myretort with stri ps of wood, packed in closely; and I find that the gaspassing among said strips of wood in the presence of the heat is sopurified and changed in its nature,by combining with the gases drivenoff lfrom said wood, that smoking is prevented. These strips of woodwill last for several days, and when removed they are found to be a hardquality of charcoal. i

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The tile f, formed thicker in the middle .than at the ends andapplied in the manner specified to equalize the heat upon the retort, asset forth.

2. In combination with the said tile f, a double casing, a, to aid inretaining heat and equalizing the action thereof onthe retort, as.

specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 2d day of June,1862.

GEO. H. KITCHEN.

'Witnessesz vLEMUEL W. SEERELL, THos. GEO. HAROLD.

